FEATURE-Sectarian divide widens after Bahrain unrest

MANAMA, June 9 (Reuters) - Sectarian tension between Sunni
and Shi'ite Muslims has reached new heights in Bahrain after
pro-democracy protests that the Sunni minority government
crushed with martial law and foreign military forces.

Inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, Sunni and
Shi'ite Bahrainis took to the streets in early February to
demand political reforms in a country where the ruling Al
Khalifa family appoints cabinet ministers and an upper house of
parliament, neutering the powers of the elected assembly.

An idealistic movement began with slogans such as "No Sunni,
No Shi'ite -- Just Bahraini", but now sectarian fear and anger
are uppermost on this small island state where Saudi Arabia and
Iran are playing out a proxy contest for regional supremacy.

Sunnis and Shi'ites talk of friends lost and of a rift that
once seemed manageable. Sunnis feel threatened, Shi'ites abused.

Fatima, a Shi'ite accountancy graduate, recalled past
tensions, when Shi'ites clashed with police and faced trials in
the 1990s, but said the government response was harsher this
time because the protest movement was so large and unexpected.

"It hurts me. I have very close Sunni friends. People
inter-married and had close personal relations," she said. "Even
if the government took a step back now, the Sunnis have been
convinced that we are criminals."

Shi'ites have long complained of discrimination in Bahrain,
saying the government distributes jobs and housing on a
pro-Sunni sectarian basis, to the extent of giving nationality
to Sunnis from other countries to offset Shi'ite numbers.

There are few Shi'ites in the army and their number in the
state bureaucracy has steadily dwindled since independence from
Britain in 1971, Shi'ites say. The government denies this.
Continued...